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We have had some great matches in the women's singles draw so far. The main contenders have progressed virtually unscathed, as they continue their quests to win the first Grand Slam of the new decade.
Here are previews and predictions for the upcoming clashes of Belinda Bencic, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova on Day 4 of the tournament:
Belinda Bencic vs Jelena Ostapenko
This is probably the most interesting match-up of the women's draw so far. We can't be fooled by Jelena Ostapenko's low ranking, as she is a Grand Slam champion and a former top 5 player.
The Latvian won the French Open in 2017, which was amazingly her first title on the WTA tour. However, she has never been able to reach those heights again, and since 2018 has strangely fallen into obscurity.
Ostapenko is only 22 though, and she still has plenty of time to make a comeback to the top of the women's game. And she could begin that charge with a victory over Bencic.
Whilst Bencic has not won a Grand Slam yet, she did reach the semi-finals of the US Open last year, narrowly losing to the eventual champion Bianca Andreescu.
This is a tough one to call, but given Bencic's current form it seems the tie is in her favour. Don't be surprised if it goes the distance though!
Prediction: Bencic to win in 3 sets.
Simona Halep vs Harriet Dart
Next we have 4th seed, Simona Halep taking on Britain's Harriet Dart, who gained entry into the Australian Open through the qualifiers.
With the disappointing exit of Johanna Konta, there is more pressure on the rest of the British players still in the draw. To make matters worse for them, Halep was in her usual impressive form during her opening match, whereas Dart only just managed to win hers by the scruff of the neck.
Halep should win this pretty easily.
Prediction: Halep to win in straight sets.
Karolina Pliskova vs Laura Siegemund
The second seed Karolina Pliskova will also be in action as she faces Germany's Laura Siegemund. The Czech produced a dominating display in her opening round match and will be hoping to carry that form into the 2nd round.
Interestingly, Pliskova and Siegemund have played once before and it was the German who managed to win in three close sets, during the quarterfinals of the 2017 Stuttgart Open.
Both players were clinical in their opening round matches and this promises to be a quality affair. That said, Pliskova is the favourite to win the match and level their head-to-head to 1-1.
Prediction: Pliskova to win in straight sets.
